A letter from Nancy
9/18/2020, Georgia CORE
Dear Partners, Funders and Colleagues:
Last September, Georgia CORE’s Board of Directors held its strategic planning retreat as I began considering my retirement. While the Board reflected on collective accomplishments and future opportunities, I envisioned a new, dynamic leader who would take Georgia CORE to the next level. With a new strategic plan in place and the support of a phenomenal Board of Directors, I will retire at the end of the year.
In 2001 I was inspired by the vision of then Governor Roy E. Barnes to transform cancer care through the strategic deployment of tobacco settlement funds. No experience in my life has compared with this opportunity to serve alongside physicians, scientists, policy makers, volunteers, donors, survivors and staff as the founding president of Georgia CORE. I treasure memories of travels across the state to cancer centers, hospitals, community organizations and clinics to promote improvements in research, screening and treatment. I have grown personally and professionally from the wise counsel of Board members, colleagues and state legislators and have been blessed by the dedication and support of staff and volunteers. Receiving enthusiastic calls from partners and donors about new ways to improve cancer care is always a source of inspiration. I am honored to have had so many unhurried conversations with patients and their loved ones in search of a listening ear and the navigation, services and support of Georgia CORE.
With many partners and researchers, we have uncovered the tragic impact of disparate cancer outcomes in rural and minority communities. Georgia CORE aspires to equity by extending the full benefits of cancer screening, treatment and research to those who are underserved and by reflecting diversity and inclusion throughout our Board and staff. This approach has contributed to many collective accomplishments, the most significant of which is increased minority participation in clinical trials and cancer screening. Accrual of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trials ranges from five to eight times the national average (24% - 47% in Georgia compared to 5% nationally) in dozens of centers across the state supported by NCI funding. Academic and community oncologists work together to improve care and education through Georgia CORE and the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology. Grants and contracts from Georgia Departments of Public Health and Community Health, State Office of Rural Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, and private foundations support highly effective programs in cancer research, screening, education, navigation and survivorship. For all this and more I am both amazed and appreciative.
Left: Nancy receives the 2019 Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader Award from the Georgia Legislative Women's Caucus, presented by State Sen. Elena Parent.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this journey with you. I am looking forward to enjoying more time with family and friends on the Georgia coast. But I will also remain connected to and supportive of Georgia CORE – because I know that together we will ensure that all Georgians receive the benefits of improvements in cancer prevention, screening, treatment and survivorship care – improvements being made every day right here in this state.
Sincerely,
